In the 2019 offseason, after the disintegration of the "five-star warriors" with unlimited scenery, due to the injuries of Thompson + Curry, the warriors finally achieved only 15 wins and 50 losses in the 19-20 season;
Even in the 20-21 season, even if Curry returned, he forced down 32.0 points, 5.8 boards, 5.8 assists, 48.2% shooting rate + 42.1% three-point shooting rate of the super performance; but due to the team's overall lineup strength, the Warriors still failed to squeeze into the playoffs.
Missing the playoffs for two consecutive years has made the Warriors, who had "five years of triple crowns", no longer optimistic about the ability to compete for the championship
After two consecutive years of not making the playoffs, even if the Warriors' roster in the new season is still "luxurious" - with Curry + Thompson + Wiggins + Green + Wiseman, almost no one thinks that they still have the strength to continue to compete for the championship. After all, in the eyes of most people, the new season of the Warriors can remain within the range of the play-offs before the comeback of Thompson and Wiseman, which is already considered to be very successful.
That is to say, after missing the playoffs for two consecutive years, no one believes that the Warriors have regained the ability to compete for the championship without much change in the lineup.
Unexpectedly, although Curry's data performance in the new season has dropped a lot compared to last season, under the power of Poole, Wiggins and others, the Warriors even maintained the league's first record for a long time.
In contrast, the Nets and Lakers, who were regarded as favorites to win the championship before the start of the new season, could not play a dominant force for various reasons, and they all fell out of the top five of their respective divisions, and even the Lakers have fallen to the ninth place in the West, and even the playoff places may not be able to get.
Warriors vs Spurs: The main core is absent, and the second team alone can win?
In the Warriors vs Spurs game, Curry, Green, Thompson, Iguodala, Porter, Wiggins, Bjelica and Wiseman all missed the game due to injury or rest. I thought that with almost a starting lineup (Curry, Green, Thompson, Wiggins, Wiseman), the Warriors would have a basically difficult time winning this game.
And the game situation seems to be going this way, this game the Warriors were pressed by the Spurs in the first three quarters. Until the end of the third quarter, the Warriors trailed the Spurs by 15 points at 89-104; although the score would not be expanded to more than 20 points, but because there was no blessing from Curry, Thompson and others, basically no one was optimistic that the Warriors could turn the tables...
But with Damien Lee 8 points, 2 boards and 2 assists, Poole 5 points and 1 assist, Cuminga burst out on 9-of-6 shooting, 14 points and 2 boards, plus Chiosa 6 points, 3 boards and 3 assists, and finally the Warriors blasted a wave of 35-16 attacks in the final quarter, successfully reversing the Spurs 124-120 and winning this rare victory.
At the end of the game, in the absence of Curry, Thompson and other core players, Damien Lee shot 7 of 15 and got 21 points, 5 boards and 2 assists; Poole shot 9 of 24, got 31 points, 6 boards and 5 assists; Moody shot 6 of 12, got 20 points, 7 boards and 1 assist; Looney shot 5 of 8, got 12 points, 12 boards and 3 assists; Cuminga shot 8 of 15, then got 19 points, 3 boards and 3 assists.
It is also the case that the Warriors' second team is in good shape, even against the Spurs (6 people scored in double figures), the Warriors can still win the game and continue to defend the Warriors' winning streak...
Without a strong forward, the Warriors are still not optimistic about winning the championship?
Since Bryant won two FMVPs in the 08-09 and 09-10 seasons, no defender player in the league has been able to get the FMVP. In 11 years, Nowitzki led the Lone Rangers to win the championship, in 12 years, 13 years, the Heat James won the FMVP, in 14 years, leonard, who was good in attack and defense, and in 15 years, he awarded the outstanding contribution of Iguodala.
In 16 years, 17 years, 18 years, Durant won consecutive championships with excellent and efficient offensive and defensive performances, 19 years was won by Leonard, who led the Raptors to win the championship with "single core", 20 years James, 21 years alphabet brother...
It can be said that in the 11 years since Kobe Won the FMVP, the people who can get the FMVP are the front-line players. Even except for the strange soldier Iguodala, almost everyone has excellent offensive and defensive capabilities.
Now the Warriors don't have too strong a super front, which makes it difficult for them to take advantage of teams with James, Durant, and Alphabet. It may even be impossible to defend the enemy team's front line at the same time, like the Sun last season, it will collapse like the Sun last season, directly losing four consecutive games and being eliminated.
It is precisely because there is no strong forward, mainly relying on the projection ability of Curry, Thompson and others to win, so now this Warriors is not optimistic at all, and can win the championship in the playoffs with greater defensive intensity and more targetedness.
Therefore, as early as the offseason, many Warriors fans hoped that the team management could once again operate the introduction of a top league forward player like Durant did in that year, so that the Warriors really have the strength to compete for the championship.
If it does not continue to strengthen, the second team is the Warriors' championship base
If the Warriors' record in the new season is the same as that of the Lakers, and has been hovering in the playoff area, then the team management does have a great probability that it will directly "trade zero for whole", trade Curry a giant star forward with good offensive and defensive skills, and then try to rebuild the Warriors into a championship-winning division.
But now that the Warriors have played the league's top record, Poole, Cumminga, Wiggins and others have performed well, I believe that before the end of this year's trading day, the Warriors management will not have much action. So, according to the thinking of nearly a decade, if there is no strong front, why should the Warriors compete for the championship in the new season?
A. Wiggins, who is looking forward to being selected as an All-Star starter, played a super star performance. As long as Wiggins can play a superstar offensive and defensive performance, even if it is only about 80% of durant at the peak, the Warriors can benefit a lot.
b. The play of the second team may affect the championship. In the first three games of the 2016 Finals, when Curry and Thompson, the two major scorers, did not play well, it was Iguodala, Livingston and others who stood up and played a stronger overall strength, and finally helped the Warriors get a 3-1 lead.
Judging from the performance of the Warriors' second team this year, they obviously have a lot of room to play. Instead of expecting Wiggins to play a huge offensive and defensive performance in the playoffs, it is better to expect the second team to play a better performance, helping the team stabilize the point difference and even open the score. As long as the second team of the Warriors in the playoffs can play, then coupled with the more stable and mature Splash Brothers + Green than 16 years, and Wiggins, who is stronger than Barnes, I believe that the Warriors will win the championship again is just around the corner...